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THE BLOG; Tom Cruise Car Is for Sale

By JOHN R. QUAIN

Published: July 29, 2012

THE real star of the 1983 film ''Risky Business,'' as every car fan knows, isn't Tom Cruise or Rebecca De Mornay. It is the shimmering Porsche 928. On Tuesday, fans will have a chance to buy Mr. Cruise's old ride at an auction just north of Los Angeles.

In the movies, nothing is what is seems, and that applies to the 928, of which there were four used in the movie, according to Profiles in History, the auction house in Calabasas Hills, Calif., that is selling the car.

Technically, there were six, if you count another model used for promotional purposes and one used for sound effects.

The four main 928s included a 1981 model with an automatic transmission used in many exterior shots; a 5-speed 1978 model used for some interior shots; a 1979 automatic; and a 5-speed manual 1979 model, which is the one being auctioned. The provenance of this particular vehicle was vetted by a fan, Lewis Johnsen, who found and bought the car and recorded his efforts in a documentary, ''The Quest for RB 928.''

While a 928 in good condition can be bought for about $15,000, the ''Risky Business'' model, which has 102,755 miles on it, is expected to sell for $40,000 to $60,000, Profiles in History says.

The 928 dunked in Lake Michigan, by the way, was a disemboweled ''dump car'' (the 1979 automatic referred to previously).